Their challenge is to complete an arduous expedition in that unknown territory called the future, with unfamiliar kit and no reliable map.

Ministers must arrive at the destination of a clean energy system fit for the 21st century and sharply lower carbon emissions, while keeping the lights on, energy bills affordable and all the time protecting both people and the natural world from harm.

But the hysteria over fracking – "we're in the money" yelled one headline – reveals starkly the way the two sides of the coalition are fighting over the compass and pulling in different directions. George Osborne and the Conservatives dream of a US-style gas revolution, energy secretary Ed Davey and the LibDems understand it is near certain not to happen.

Fracking could provide a useful source of secure, domestic and relatively low-carbon fuel and could offset some of the decline in North Sea gas in a decade or so. But it won't come quick enough. As the energy regulator Ofgem warned on Thursday, the UK faces a rising risk of blackouts far sooner - within a few years.

Wind turbines on land and an end to profligate wasting of electricity and gas in our homes are far better placed to get us through the energy crunch.

But consider this. Ministers have pledged to make planning harder for onshore windfarms, but easier for fracking rigs. They suggest windfarm developers give £5,000 to local communities per megawatt, but require that fracking firms give £100,000 to locals for a single exploratory well, plus 1% of revenues from each production site.

Most revealing of all is that, while fracking will only be acceptable if it can be done safely and without damaging water supplies or exacerbating climate change by belching out methane, ministers have completely ignored the key recommendation of the Royal Society's authoritative report on shale gas, which insisted regulatory "guidelines specific to shale gas extraction" must be drawn up.

Environmental protection must not make fracking too expensive is the message government is sending out.

Renewable energy received more certainty, which could reduce some of the crippling uncertainty that has kept investors hands in their pockets at a time when the UK's energy system is desperate for new generation. The arcane but vital capacity mechanism – ensuring enough flexible gas-powered electricity is available to iron out the peaks and troughs in carbon-free wind and solar – is now a step further forward. And the green investment bank will be allowed to borrow – a little – for the first time.

On balance, the coalition now looks more likely to take the steeper but ultimately safer high road to sustainability. But this expedition into the future is a marathon not a sprint, and ministers' failure to look much beyond 2020 is still tripping them up.

In the past two years, largely thanks to Osborne, this has looked like the greenest government never. After today, the journey is at least back on track and we should be grateful for that. When it comes to safeguarding the environment we all share, we really are all in it together.

Note: I have clarified that wind farm developers are recommended to give £5,000 per megawatt installed, not in total. Seven 3MW turbined would mean £100,000 if firms comply.